Joseph Campbell's Monomyth (Hero Cycle): Introduction
In Joseph Campbell’s, Hero with a Thousand Faces, he describes the basic pattern a hero would take on a journey. His theory of a hero is also called the Monomyth. In his first stage, Call to Adventure, a hero is called on a quest or is awakened by one (Campbell 51). The Supernatural Aid is there to be a protective figure helping them along the way (69). As the hero continues his journey, he gets some Helpers and Threshold Guardians. They are there when there is a “zone of magnified power” (77). When he meets the Threshold of his journey, they know that they are about to face the unknown. Continuing Campbell’s explanation of the Hero’s Journey, the hero is faced with Challenges and Temptations. These can both be physical and psychological. It can also pull the hero away from the journey. The greatest challenge is when the hero meets the Abyss. This is when the hero must face his/her greatest fear, and face the unknown alone. At the end of the Abyss, the hero goes through a Transformation. The hero also receives Gifts from a Goddess to help them in their journey or for them to achieve in the journey. When this occurs, the hero has a new part of them reborn. The Hero accepts this new self as Atonement. The last stage of the journey is the Return. This is when the hero goes back to everyday life; which marks the end of the Hero’s Journey.
Works Cited:
Campbell, Joseph.The Hero with a Thousand Faces.Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1968. Print. Rowling, J. K.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Arthur A. Levine, 1999. Print. Rowling, J. K.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print.
Introduction
In Joseph Campbell’s, Hero with a Thousand Faces, he describes the basic pattern a hero would take on a journey. His theory of a hero is also called the Monomyth. In his first stage, Call to Adventure, a hero is called on a quest or is awakened by one (Campbell 51). The Supernatural Aid is there to be a protective figure helping them along the way (69). As the hero continues his journey, he gets some Helpers and Threshold Guardians. They are there when there is a “zone of magnified power” (77). When he meets the Threshold of his journey, they know that they are about to face the unknown.
Continuing Campbell’s explanation of the Hero’s Journey, the hero is faced with Challenges and Temptations. These can both be physical and psychological. It can also pull the hero away from the journey. The greatest challenge is when the hero meets the Abyss. This is when the hero must face his/her greatest fear, and face the unknown alone. At the end of the Abyss, the hero goes through a Transformation. The hero also receives Gifts from a Goddess to help them in their journey or for them to achieve in the journey. When this occurs, the hero has a new part of them reborn. The Hero accepts this new self as Atonement. The last stage of the journey is the Return. This is when the hero goes back to everyday life; which marks the end of the Hero’s Journey.
Works Cited:
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1968. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Arthur A. Levine, 1999. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print.